Olive Commons, a cameona, hand painted on porcelain, 1 3/4 by 2 1/4 inches, signed OC.
Olive Wesler Commons grew up in Richmond, Indiana where she studied art in public schools and with private instructors. In 1902, after marriage to Arthur B. Commons, she began painting china, becoming well known as an artist, in Richmond. In 1908 she and her husband moved to an island in the St. John’s River, where she began painting Florida scenes on small porcelain medallions, as gifts to friends up north. Florida visitors, on seeing these small Cameona’s, insisted on buying them as souvenirs. Commons made and sold yearly, throughout the state, as many as 2,000 of these small porcelain painted pins. In 1924 Commons moved to Miami and Coconut Grove, opening a studio, The House of Commons. It was in Coconut Grove that Commons developed her unique medium, the use of platinum painting on porcelain. Commons decorated china tableware with typical Florida scenes of palm trees, live oak, and Spanish Moss.
Olive Commons, a cameona, hand painted on porcelain, 1 1/2 high, signed OC.
Arthur Commons wrote the following poem as advertising copy for her works: “The Banyan is a spreading tree; It spreads and spreads, as you will see. It grows in a land where the sun is bright; It grows all day and grows all night. It bears no fruit except a fig, That’s good for nothing but a pig. But the Banyan tree does have a use, For elastic is made of Banyan juice. It gives you shade when the weather’s warm and it sheds the rain in time of storm. The largest Banyan in the U.S.A. Is found at Douglas and Main Highway. Just six miles south of the center of town, Where all the visitors drive around. Under this tree, in a bungalow, Their lives an artist that you should know. In the House of Commons, she does her chore, and visitors have made a path to her door. If a little curious you might be, A visit will solve the mystery.”
Olive Commons, a cameona, hand painted on porcelain, 1 3/4 inches high, signed OC.
Common ran an advertisement in the Florida Grower, February 4, 1922: “When Seeking Suitable Souvenirs such as Cameona’s, Florida’s Most Sought for Gift- at once Typical, Useful, Ornamental and Practically Indestructible…Stands Unique in the Field of Art. Each a miniature Florida scene in all the varied colorings of land, water, and sky. Painted by hand in oil on a specially glazed hard porcelain, and burned in at a very high temperature. Mrs. A. B. Commons, Mossdale, Volusia Co., Florida.” In 1939 Commons received the League of American Pen Women’s New York World’s Fair, Medal for her work.
Born: June 8, 1880, Richmond, Indiana. Membership: Miami Art League. Exhibits: Miami Art League, Annual, Miami Beach Art Center, November 1946. Directory: Listed in the Miami City Directory in 1929 at 3940 Main Highway.
